


More Than They Bargained For

by bluntblade



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Action, Custom Knights of Ren, F/F, Female Knights of Ren, First Kiss, Force-Sensitive Finn (Star Wars), Grey Jedi Rey, Missions Gone Wrong, Original Character(s), Post-Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Skywalker Saber Stays Broken
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-24
Updated: 2020-01-24
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:15:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22393150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluntblade/pseuds/bluntblade
Summary: A Resistance retrieval mission on Raxus Prime runs into complications. Some of them wear black robes. And all the while, Rey's trying to figure out just why she's feeling so protective of Kaydel.An updated version of this will be in my Episode IX.
Relationships: Finn/Rose Tico, Kaydel Ko Connix & Rey, Kaydel Ko Connix/Rey
Comments: 2
Kudos: 17





	1. Objective

**Author's Note:**

> This follows on from Of Crait, Conscience and Consequence but is slightly out-of-sync with the other Reydel stuff I've written. I'm sort-of trialling it as a part of my headcanon Episode IX, which I might one day post in full if I complete it.

Even with goggles and a rebreather, Finn found Raxus Prime almost intolerable. An ugly brown haze hung over the mountains – mountains which were made up entirely of scrap – and the rancid yellow seas of plasma. According to the archives there was rock and earth somewhere on this world, but Finn hadn’t seen any yet.

“Gotta hand it to you, Rey,” he said, seeing her coming down the ramp. “Jakku seems a lot less of a junkyard after seeing this place.”

Rey nodded. He could see the grimace even through her goggles. “That spy had better be right.”

“Chewie coming with us?”

She shook her head. “Poe’s request.”

“Damn right,” Poe said, joining them. “The First Order will be hunting in this sector too. We need to be ready to get out fast if they come calling. On that note,” he called. “Squads Six, Eight, Eleven, you’re on guard duty. Get yourselves dug in, comfy but not too comfy.”

The allotted units picked out positions around the landing sites.

“Everyone else, we’re after an old U-Wing, carrying a concealed stash of datasticks. Hopefully the pilot too, but on a world like this I’m not optimistic. We’ve got a long-range fix on the ship,” he gestured to the nearest mountain of scrap, “and BB-8 will provide tracking duties closer to the target.”

“Then may I ask,” C-3PO interjected, “why I have been dragged along to this quite appalling wasteland?”

Behind his rebreather, Poe grinned. “Six million languages, pal. In case we find some junkers of our own.”

As Poe rounded off the briefing, Finn saw Rey approach Kaydel. “Del, are you sure you want in on this one? It’s going to be a slog.”

“I’m sure. If we’re going down one of those warrens, Poe wants someone coordinating.”

“That sounds like what Poe wants, but if you say so.” Rey took a hold of Kaydel’s arm. “Stay safe, won’t you?”

Kaydel’s head bobbed. “I’ll be with Rose, in among the main force.” Rey nodded at that. Then she seemed to realise how long she’d been holding the other woman’s arm and let go. Not before squeezing it, Finn noted.

Rose elbowed him. “Don’t be nosy.”

“Let’s move out!” Poe rounded off. “Finn, you’re with me. Rey, I want your crew on the high ground.”

“On it,” Finn replied. He clapped a hand on Rey’s shoulder. “See you on the other side.”

“And you look after yourself and the others,” she replied. Then she was off, leading her Scrappers at a brisk pace over the wreckage.

  


The mountain was connected to their plateau by a series of causeways, leading into gaping black holes in the metal. Some of them looked like they’d been deliberately raised or cleared of obstacles, others quite accidental. Subsonic scans by the droids declared them all safe to traverse, but Poe’s squads still went quickly and quietly. On the threshold of their tunnel Finn glanced up, seeing Rey and her Scrappers heading up the shoulder of the mountain.

“Kuoma’s seeing movement above us,” her voice crackled in his headset. “Scavenger parties. Don’t think they’ve spotted us, but you’re likely to be pretty visible down there.”

“Noted,” Poe said. “So we assume there are more inside?”

“Yeah. Do your best to come in peace,” Rey advised. “But we might need to get rough. Scavenger gangs aren’t known for playing nice.”

“We know,” Finn said. “We’ve heard your stories.” Then he ducked into the dark.

The tunnels were cramped, winding and often uneven underfoot, though the troops following him managed to keep reasonably quiet.

“Got anything, buddy?” Poe asked.

“Nothing yet.” Finn went from corner to corner, blaster up. BB-8 followed with impressive precision, and Finn smiled despite himself. “Rey still got a link to the blockade runner?”

“I’ll get her to confirm.”

“Hopefully her guys are almost in position too.” BB-8 warbled quietly – they were getting close.

Finn moved further ahead, seeing the light increasing. Approaching the final corner, he held up a hand to halt the rest. Then, slowly and carefully, he snuck a peek around the corner.

There was a cavern of rust ahead, and it was full of people. A rag-tag ensemble, most of them clad in patchwork armour. Heavyset and heavily armed seemed to be the theme too, at a glance.

Finn pulled away and slumped against the metal, finding Poe had reached him.

“We have company, then?”

“With a lot of guns.”

“Damnit.” Poe sighed. “I guess it’s time to be diplomatic. Someone get me Comms.”

  


Rey, up on the shoulder of the mountain and listening in on that exchange, was not best pleased. “Poe…”

“She’ll be fine, Rey.”

“Not if they start shooting.”

“Which is why you’re up there. You’ve got a visual, right?”

“Nyzar’s found a tunnel which should lead in… yeah.” She dropped to crawl on her elbows and knees, pistol in one hand. After half a minute, she found a ledge and a space between Nyzar and Tannel. “I can see the chamber and I like your idea even less.”

“I’m afraid I don’t need you to like it, Captain. They’re coming out now.”

  


“Hello!”

Kaydel heard the whine and hum of blasters charging up and immediately, C-3PO said what she was thinking. “That may not have been the optimum way to open negotiations.”

She pulled off her rebreather and scowled at the droid. “Come on.”

They came out with hands out, and found themselves staring down the barrels of two dozen guns.

“Greetings,” Threepio managed without too much stuttering. Despite Kaydel’s own nerves, she managed to be impressed by that. “I am C-3PO, human-cyborg-”

He was drowned out by a growl from a big Rodian with a scale-mail cloak.

“Hmm,” he said to Kaydel. “The big fellow says I’m the prettiest piece of metal he’s seen in years.” That notion only made him more tremulous.

“I’m Lieutenant Kaydel Ko Connix of the Resistance,” Kaydel announced herself, indicating the large Rodian as the droid translated. “I take it you’re the one in charge?”

More growling. She turned to Threepio. “He is Hret Guular, chieftain of the Blackhammer Clan, and he wishes to know why we have come.”

Kaydel risked a glance at the shadowy corner where Poe stood, and he nodded.

“We’re looking for a U-Wing carrier, custom model.” Guular twitched momentarily at that – he tried to hide it, but that was all Kaydel needed to see. “It was piloted by one of our spies and carrying a parcel of data-sticks. We’re willing to barter for those – especially the pilot if you’re got him.”

Guular snorted and muttered something.

“Ah, we won’t want to pay for the pilot,” Threepio clarified. “The Chieftain here says his bones were picked clean some time before the scavengers arrived. Beastly world,” he added.

Guular cut across him, brandishing the big club in his hand.

“If we want to discuss the haul,” Threepio said, “a scavenger chief doesn’t bargain with anyone lower than a fellow crew leader. Ah, Commander?”

But Poe was already stepping out into the open, holstering his blaster and pulling his rebreather away. A dozen guns turned to him regardless.

Poe hesitated for a moment, but he met them with a raised eyebrow. “Good morning. I’m Commander Poe Dameron and I’d just like to make it clear that shooting me would be really bad business. I’m sure you’ve twigged we’ve got more people back there, but I’ve also got some up top, with a bead on you. And just in case you need persuading further, one of them’s a Jedi. So really, the wise thing would be to cut a deal.”

Guular’s laugh managed to both crack and gurgle. Poe and Kaydel exchanged a worried look, and Poe muttered “Rey’s probably got her gun trained on me now.”

Kaydel didn’t have time to dispute that as Threepio translated again. “Ah! Commander Dameron, he says he likes you. You have a ‘scav’s nose for business’, he declares.” Kaydel and Poe breathed again, trying not to look too relieved.

Guular turned and bellowed at a small crew member, who scuttled off into the shadows. Then he turned back to Poe.

“I guess,” Poe said, “now’s the time to haggle.”

  


Up on her ledge, Rey relaxed a little. Leaving her squad in position, she got up and ducked back into the hazy sunlight.

Her radio crackled. “Bet you hated that,” came Finn’s voice.

“I could kick him for putting her out there,” she said.

She could hear Finn shaking his head. “She’s comms, Rey. It goes with the territory." 

"That's a loose interpretation of 'comms'," she responded.

"Well, why are you so fussed?”

“Because…” she struggled for the words, wondering why she was struggling, but then her headset chirped. “Gotta go, the _Solo_ ’s making contact.” Finn grunted in a way that said _well that's convenient_. She ignored him and switched channels. “Scrapper One.”

“Captain, a First Order fleet just jumped into orbit. They haven’t detected us, but they’re launching transports.”

Rey grimaced, scanning the sky instinctively before moving back to her squad. “Have you signalled the fleet?”

“Of course. They’re inbound, but you need to start moving.”

Then Rey heard the telltale scream of engines. She looked up and there they were – ten Stormtrooper gunships and a huge black slab of a transport, the mere sight of which made her feel vaguely queasy. All were surrounded by TIE craft.

She switched comms channels again. “Finn.”


	2. Complication

“Deal!” Poe exclaimed, shaking hands with Guular as Finn rounded the corner – the small scavenger had returned with a bundle of data-sticks. He and Kaydel turned to him cheerfully, but their smiles died at the look on his face.

“First Order?” Kaydel asked.

He nodded. Then Guular rumbled questioningly, and Threepio translated it without thinking.

“ _No!_ ” Poe and Finn shouted in unison. The droid had the decency to look embarrassed. Then they looked at one another, the same unwelcome question running through their minds; would the junkers sell them out to the enemy?

Poe stepped forward with the agreed stack of credits. “Guular, you need to know that the info we’re after relates to deserting Stormtroopers. You could sell that to the First Order, but the second they twig that you might know, they’ll come back and burn this world to the bedrock to keep that secret.”

“They’re coming from the east,” Finn added. “You take tunnel routes away from here, they shouldn’t realise you were even here.” He nudged Threepio. "Make sure he gets that bit."

Guular took the credits, and for a moment they held their breaths. Then he motioned the little scavenger to hand over the data-sticks and growled something at Poe.

“He says he won’t forget this,” Threepio affirmed to Poe.

“Glad to hear it,” he replied, as the sound of engines reached them. “Now everybody, let’s go, now!”

Rey scrambled down the slope, seeing the gunships swoop down. The enemy had picked out two landing points around the mountain, aiming to cover the causeways and push into the superstructure. Then she felt something else, two loathsome _presences_ in the Force.

She had a nasty suspicion about what that was.

“Got a bad feeling about this,” she muttered. Then she heard the howl of incoming TIE engines and looked skyward. “Spoke too soon.”

Fighters and bombers swept in as gunfire echoed up through the holes in the mountain’s metal skin.

“Finn!" She had to strain to make herself heard over the din. "What’s going on in there?”

Finn too was struggling to cut through the sound of fighting. “Fighting retreat,” he grunted. “We’re going for the causeways, but we’ve got Stormtroopers in here too.” A crackle told her that he’d gone for his shock-baton. That wasn’t a good sign.

There was a fizzing impact and a scream. “Lots of Stormtroopers,” Finn resumed grimly.

Rey saw figures on the causeways. “Poe’s out. Where are Rose and Kaydel?”

“I don’t see them!”

Then Rey felt an impact and an explosion rippled through the metal underfoot. She watched in horror as one of the causeways came apart, sending soldiers tumbling into the bile-yellow plasma. “Kriff! Finn you need to move, they’re bombing the bridges!”

She saw Poe at the far end, dragging a man up from the edge.

“They’ve seen us!” Nyzar shouted from further down. “Take cover!”

A second later a TIE bomber dived on their position, blowing a hole in the slope. Rey hurled herself into cover and balled up, feeling shreds of metal ping off her armour. When she opened her eyes, she realised that one long splinter had stuck in a vambrace, still quivering from the impact.

She leapt out and found a gaping chasm in the metal, with no other clear way down – and the bomber coming back again. Reaching out with the Force, she grabbed a chunk of metal the size of her head and catapulted it into the craft’s wing joint. Suddenly short of a wing, the bomber spiralled off out of sight.

Rey didn’t wait to hear an explosion, focusing on the lack of a way down the slope. Her Scrappers were staring up from below.

“Go!” she barked, jabbing with her hand. Gritting her teeth, she leapt into the open hole, shimmying down a girder and then awkwardly clambering down until she found a gantry. Then she followed the sounds of gunfire, kicking into a full sprint when she heard Kaydel and Rose’s voices. She unslung her staff and activated the shock-generators she’d worked into it as she rounded a corner and found Stormtroopers. Weaving through their shots, she smashed into them and with a flurry of blows, left the squad sprawled along the passage.

The shouts were louder now, and led her into an open chamber. Her stomach lurched when she saw Kaydel and Rose below with half a beleaguered squad, pinned down by Stormtroopers.

They hadn’t spotted her. Well, that was fine by Rey.

She reached out with the Force, finding a weakness in a strut next to the Stormtroopers, and shoved. The metal buckled and twisted, and the Stormtroopers shouted out in alarm – but too late. The chunk of metal it had held up caved in on top of them.

Rey leapt down to land in front of the others. “Let’s go.”

Then she heard an electronic bleat, and turned to see a single white-armoured hand sticking out from under the heap of metal. It was still holding a thermal detonator.

A thermal detonator on a countdown.

“ _Go!_ ” She screamed, and threw herself away as the detonator went off. She found herself sprawled on the floor, unscathed except for a ringing in her ears, but then sound reached her - an ominous grown of metal.

"Rey, come on!" Kaydel shouted to her, grabbing her shoulder and heaving.

Seeing her brought Rey quickly but shakily to her feet. "You should be running."

"You too, let's get out of here."

Rey complied, and not a second too soon. Her reckless ploy with the strut had laid the ground perfectly for an avalanche of scrap, and the walls of the tunnel itself buckled and contorted around them as they fled. They were almost out, though. Almost.

They still had to hope that Snap and Jess’s squadrons were in the air of course, otherwise they’d never make it offworld. But more immediately, one of those caustic presences was there again, stronger now.

As they emerged into another cavern, she realised it was above them. A black-clad figure leapt from the shadows, a vibro-blade suddenly crackling into life and aimed dead at one of the soldiers.

Rey jumped, hitting the attacker in an awkward tackle that sent them both tumbling away.

She regained her feet to find herself facing a slender figure, unmistakably female and wielding a glaive with predatory grace.

“Knight of Ren,” she said.

“Gwaelyn Ren.” It was the sort of voice that Kaydel liked to call “ripe” and Poe called “hammy” when a holo-reel villain spoke that way. From Gwaelyn Ren however, it was all too fitting, a venomous hiss. “The master was generous with this tasking. I have longed to test myself against the scavenger, the last Jedi. I will flense your skull and set it before the throne.”

Kaydel’s voice echoed back down the tunnel, calling Rey’s name. She stiffened, and she knew, just knew that the smile behind Gwaelyn’s angular mask had widened.

“But maybe I’ll have some fun with the scavenger’s dear ones first.”

Rey lashed out with the Force, which Gwaelyn threw up a shield to resist, and ducked into the tunnel, the Knight lunging after her with her sizzling blade.


	3. Adversary

The X-Wings and A-Wings were in the air, blowing First Order craft out of the sky and finally giving Finn and his troops some respite as they crossed the causeways. Poe and his squads held the opposite side, laying down covering fire against the Stormtroopers.

“Finn,” he rasped when they reached him, “where the hell are the others?”

“I don’t-” Finn started. But then he felt a sharp chill, as he’d been plunged into ice. “Down!”

He grabbed Poe’s shoulders and ducked down, right as blaster bolts snapped through the air around them.

“What-” Poe snarled as Finn dragged him into cover.

“Knight of Ren,” he said. “Get everyone back to the ships.”

“What are you gonna-”

“Go!” Finn burst from cover, firing off a burst of shots at the dark figure on the horizon, on the junk heaps. He felt the Knight’s attention lock onto him, the dark warrior seeming to recognise something in him.

The handcannon in his enemy’s hand snapped, and he dived into cover being an old swoop bike as the shots smacked home around him. He tried to ignore the fist-sized holes they’d punched into the scrap.

Peeking out from behind the swoop, he scanned the area. Nothing – _there_. The Knight’s presence was a blot on his consciousness, a shadow on his perceptions.

Finn ducked down again as bolts of plasma battered against the swoop, showing him with sparks. He grimaced. He couldn’t beat this murderer to the shot. But – as he thought back to a firefight on another desolate world – he didn’t need to.

Suddenly, the world seemed much quieter, except for the steps of the Knight stalking him. His vision sharpened. The fingers of his free hand flexed, and something _thrummed_ through his muscles.

He rose from cover and as his enemy aimed, he raised his hand – and the plasma bolt halted in midair.

His own gun barked and the Knight staggered as the blast took him in the leg. A machine-distorted roar rang out across the metal as the figure in black dropped to one knee. The black lenses of his helmet met Finn’s eyes, and he felt the hatred boiling behind them.

“Yeah,” he breathed savagely. “That’s right.” And balling his hand into a fist, he sent the plasma bolt sizzling back. It blew a glowing hole in the Knight’s chestplate and hurled him away to land in a crater.

Finn slumped back against the swoop, breathing hard. Then he regained his balance and raced to join the others.

In the tunnels, Gwaelyn Ren flinched for a moment. Rey saw it and tried to press the attack, but the Knight screeched and renewed her own assault.

She was blisteringly fast, faster even than the Praetorians Rey had faced in Snoke’s throne room. The blows they traded were a constant flurry, painting the metal walls in a wash of crimson and electric blue.

Rey barely blocked a slash which would have taken off the top of her head. She veered away as Gwaelyn drove the glaive at her heart and swung back, only for the Knight to evade the blow and cut at her again. She jerked back, the blade a finger’s breadth from her throat.

She was going backwards, fighting as much to keep her enemy at bay as actually beat her. The staff was too slow, too heavy.

Daylight pricked the edge of her vision and then they were on a causeway. Rey ducked away and leapt a pile of scrap, putting distance between herself and Gwaelyn before she saw the Knight’s gaze had wandered.

Quick as she dared, Rey looked – and saw Rose and Kaydel, moving low and slow to avoid fire from the Stormtroopers now moving down the ridge. Suddenly there was an unbearable tightness in her throat.

Gwaelyn raised her hand and a wall of air slammed into Rey, nearly knocking her off her feet. By the time she recovered, the Knight was past her and racing along the bridge.

Rey followed, gaining, but too late. Gwaelyn stretched out a hand and Kaydel was yanked backwards as if by an invisible wire. She landed awkwardly, rolling over to find the Knight’s boot on her chest.

“No!” Rey yelled, seeing the glaive rise.

What followed was the product of pure instinct. She threw out a hand behind herself and _shoved_ , propelling herself forward. It wasn’t elegant, but she cannoned into the Knight and knocked her off Kaydel.

She attacked before she even regained her feet, left-right, the blows ringing against her enemy’s glaive. Gwaelyn slashed at her again but this time Rey barely tried to evade it, seeing the Knight expose herself.

The vibro-blade bit into her cheek, leaving a long gash. But even as bloody smoke flew from the wound, Rey slammed the crackling staff home with enough force to stave Gwaelyn’s breastplate in.

The Knight flew backwards, slamming into a jagged metal outcrop with a grisly crack before she dropped to the floor.

“Kaydel!” Rey rushed over to the other girl, pulling her to her feet. “You alright?”

Kaydel nodded. She was breathing heavily and a bruise was darkening on her chin, but otherwise she looked OK. Something, however, kept Rey looking, searching her face.

Only Kaydel stopped her, motioning past her shoulder. “Rey…”

She turned, and saw Gwaelyn clawing weakly at her helmet. Cautiously, still bent over to avoid being seen by the enemy on the ridge, she approached.

The Knight saw her approach and drew a dagger from her belt, but her strength was fading quickly – Rey kicked the blade out of her hand and knelt to remove the helmet.

Underneath was a face that must have been beautiful once, before the skin paled to corpse-white and the eyes yellowed to bile. As Gwaelyn took a blood-laced breath, she bared teeth which had been filed to sharp points – or perhaps that was the corruption too.

The rasping breaths resolved into guttural words. “The Ren marks you now, Jedi. The blood… knows you.” Rey shivered, feeling as though a cloud had suddenly moved across the sun. Then Gwaelyn’s head fell back.

“Rey,” Kaydel said behind her. “We’ve gotta go.”

She took a breath. “Right.” And they pelted back to the landing site with the other stragglers.


	4. Debrief

The little Resistance fleet burst into realspace as Poe’s force broke from the atmosphere, deluging the First Order ships with fire but lingering only to take their comrades aboard. To stay and fight any longer would risk losing ships – and worse, risk the First Order tracking them to a base or other fleet.

Poe got on the radio to address the strike force. He congratulated them on a job well done, but he didn’t let himself get too ebullient. “We lost friends and comrades today. They more than accounted for themselves and what we retrieved brings us a step closer to victory, but we mourn them nonetheless.”

He replaced the handset and sat back. Chewie patted him gently on the shoulder and gave an encouraging growl.

“Thanks Chewie. I hope it sounded that way to the others.” Then he moved into the main cabin, finding Finn with the Scrappers. “Finn, put the blaster down. You can clean it in the morning.”

Finn looked like he was going to protest – in truth Poe knew it would hurt him to leave the blaster dirty for any length of time – but then he saw the flask in Poe’s right hand, and the three tumblers in the left. “Is that-”

“Merenzane Gold? Yep, my treat.”

“Where’d you get it?” Rose asked, taking the proffered third tumbler. 

“Sejatul. I ran across a bottle and had an empty flask, so I carried out a quick rescue.”

Finn eyed his drink suspiciously. “What’s the occasion?”

“What’s-” Poe looked hard at him. “Don’t give me that. I saw you _take a Knight of Ren down_. What’s the occasion,” he muttered.

Finn nodded. “Yeah, I suppose that’s pretty big.” He took a swig. “Damn, I see why this stuff’s so pricey. That's exquisite.”

“Savour it buddy, we’ve only got this flask. Seriously though, I saw how you took that bastard out – that was you using the Force, right?”

From the look on his friend’s face, he couldn’t quite believe it himself. “Yeah, I’d seen the move pulled before and realised I might just be able to do it myself.”

Poe made a grim face. “I think we’ve both seen it.”

“Sorry.”

He sat back. “Nah, I’m not complaining. And Rose says Rey got the other one. Have you talked with her about it – about all this, yet?”

“She’s in her cabin with Kaydel. I think she might need a while.”

“Are we leaving a glass aside for her?”

Finn thought about it for a moment. “Nah.”

“Hold still.”

“Ow. Oww…”

“I said hold still,” Kaydel took the wipe away and inspected the cut on Rey’s cheek. They were sitting on the bed in Rey’s cabin. “Mm hmm, I call that almost clean.”

“More than I can say for the fight,” Rey murmured. “She nearly killed me three times in a minute. I haven’t seen anyone move that fast since Ren himself, in the throne room.” She sighed. “I need to put the time aside to get myself a lightsaber. The old staff doesn’t quite cut it.”

“Pun intended?” Kaydel saw her expression and made an apologetic look. “You’re right, but for now I’m glad we got you back in one piece. And that’s two fewer Knights of Ren for us to fear.”

“Did I hear right about Finn getting the other one?”

Kaydel shrugged. “So Poe says. I didn’t see it, so you might want to check with Finn once we're done here. OK, one more dab… and we’re done here.”

Rey grimaced as she took the mirror and examined the wound. “That’s going to scar.”

“I think it’s going to be dashing.” Kaydel smiled, dropping her voice to a growl. A "ripe" growl, as she'd call it. “The roguish warrior girl.” Her finger traced a line, parallel to the cut, and Rey suppressed a shudder at the touch. “I didn’t thank you for saving me yet,” she said quietly.

“It was instinct,” Rey replied quickly. Too quickly, the words feeling curt even to her.

Kaydel’s face fell at that, just a little, and Rey felt a twinge in her chest. “Well, thanks-”

“No, that’s not right,” Rey interrupted, taking hold of her wrist before she could pull away. She swallowed, but there was no going back now, no room to sidestep. “I saw her go for you, and the very idea of seeing you die… that _hurt_ , Kaydel." She tapped her cheek. "More than any little cut.”

Kaydel’s eyes widened, her lower lip trembling a little. "I don't know if you realise how much it means to me, to hear you say that." Her face was so very close to Rey's now. “Rey, I don’t just want to be around you because you’re Rey the Jedi. It’s… it’s because of everything else about you. It’s because you took the time to talk to me after Crait.”

Rey was losing the fight to stay restrained, and trying to work out _what_ she was restraining. “Poe did ask me to.”

Kaydel’s eyebrow rose a little, a smirk threatening to break out for a moment. “Yeah, he asked – and you went straight ahead and did it. You made time for the girl from mission control, not because that’s what Jedi do, but because you wouldn’t think not to.” Tentatively, she put her hand to Rey’s cheek. “Rey from Jakku, I… I like you, and I like you whether you’re a Jedi or not.”

And now she understood the thundering in her heart. And suddenly, it didn’t seem a problem at all.

She raised her fingers to stroke Kaydel’s hair, provoking a tiny intake of breath. “I feel the same about you, Del.”

Kaydel took her face in both hands and leaned in, tilting her head just a little. Rey shut her eyes, feeling the same tremor she had when she’d put her hand to Kylo’s two years ago. But when Kaydel pressed her lips against hers, it hit Rey even harder. The outside world seemed to melt away, and all she felt was the soft pressure of Kaydel’s mouth. For a second they held still, and then Kaydel pulled away. Rey’s eyes snapped open with a little gasp and she saw Kaydel, smiling nervously, plainly dreading that she’d done something wrong.

She smiled back at her – and surged forward, throwing her arms around Kaydel and kissing her hard, feeling the full grin which broke out across her face. Kaydel took her face in her hands again, opening her mouth and pushing her tongue into Rey’s. They tumbled back onto the bed, Rey's wrist catching the clock on her bedside table and knocking it off.

Out in the main cabin Poe heard a muffled thump, grinned at Finn and raised his tumbler in a silent toast.


End file.
